I want to smoke my first brisket and I am a little intimidated! I am really pleased with the ribs and wings that I make with my #1! I went through most of the brisket posts and took notes. I hope this summary will help the next newbie like me. In no particular order:
-Brining seemed to be a constant theme. Some people like to inject after brining, others didn't think it made a difference. DM's brining recipe is here:
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1012.0
If you want to inject the meat, one person suggested Worcestershire sauce and apple juice. Another liked Meat Church Holy Cow injection sauce
- Brined flats (Google whole packers vs. points vs. flats) take between 1.25 and 1.5 hours/lb.
- Wrap in foil before "the stall". Add some beef broth and/or Coke. Wrap a flat when the internal temp hits 150, then smoke until IT = 200. Without wrapping, Flats should come out at 195 deg and Points at 200-205 deg.
-The stall (when the meat temps stops climbing) can take 6 hours. Don't turn up the temp to try to rush it!
-There was a wide range of suggested smoke temps but most seemed to like 225 deg. If you are short on time, some suggested 260-275 deg.
- Use a water pan
- Most people smoked the brisket with the fat side down. If you get a whole packer (flat and point), some suggested separating the two. They put the point on the lower rack with the fat side down and the flat on the upper rack with the flat side up. They will both be ready at the same time even thought the finished temps are slightly different.
- After hitting the desired temp, pull the meat, double wrap in foil, put in a cooler and cover with towels. 1 hour is good and 2 hours are better.
- Use 6-8 oz of wood in the smoke
- Leave 1/4" fat cap on the meat. Score it with a knife in 1" squares to allow the brine to do it's work
What did I forget? There are just two of us in the house so doing a flat makes more sense although the consensus was that packers turn out a better tasting end result.
-Brining seemed to be a constant theme. Some people like to inject after brining, others didn't think it made a difference. DM's brining recipe is here:
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1012.0
If you want to inject the meat, one person suggested Worcestershire sauce and apple juice. Another liked Meat Church Holy Cow injection sauce
- Brined flats (Google whole packers vs. points vs. flats) take between 1.25 and 1.5 hours/lb.
- Wrap in foil before "the stall". Add some beef broth and/or Coke. Wrap a flat when the internal temp hits 150, then smoke until IT = 200. Without wrapping, Flats should come out at 195 deg and Points at 200-205 deg.
-The stall (when the meat temps stops climbing) can take 6 hours. Don't turn up the temp to try to rush it!
-There was a wide range of suggested smoke temps but most seemed to like 225 deg. If you are short on time, some suggested 260-275 deg.
- Use a water pan
- Most people smoked the brisket with the fat side down. If you get a whole packer (flat and point), some suggested separating the two. They put the point on the lower rack with the fat side down and the flat on the upper rack with the flat side up. They will both be ready at the same time even thought the finished temps are slightly different.
- After hitting the desired temp, pull the meat, double wrap in foil, put in a cooler and cover with towels. 1 hour is good and 2 hours are better.
- Use 6-8 oz of wood in the smoke
- Leave 1/4" fat cap on the meat. Score it with a knife in 1" squares to allow the brine to do it's work
What did I forget? There are just two of us in the house so doing a flat makes more sense although the consensus was that packers turn out a better tasting end result.
Sounds like you've got it covered. If you are buying a flat-only cut, it will likely be plenty trimmed, if not over-trimmed. So don't trim any fat off. I usually leave about 3/8 inch or so fat. Flats don't have much fat to begin with. I don't normally wrap (I have always done Prime whole packers, cut in half to fit my #1), but if I were doing just a flat, wrapping is probably a good idea. They can get dry. The grade of the meat has a lot to do with it too. I would wrap Choice or Select flats (I'd avoid Select flats if possible). Wrapping Prime is optional. You can probably wrap when the meat is around 160. Since I buy Prime whole packer briskets at Costco, I don't inject or brine. That might be helpful though for Choice or below.
